With the deadline wrapped up, the Minnesota Twins have added some new faces by trading away some bad contracts, aging veterans and disappointing prospects.
All the while setting themselves up nicely for the future.
So who did the Minnesota Twins nab throughout their three deadline deals?
In a nutshell they received a bullpen power arm, a strikeout-tossing starter, a veteran lefty and a toss-in prospect.
Not a bad deadline considering what the team gave up.
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How they were able to maximize value for the handful of players they gave up might be more of an indication of other team’s desperation than anything but perhaps the biggest victory was getting rid of Ricky Nolasco who may have been on his way out after the season, regardless.
Same goes with Fernando Abad and Eduardo Nunez.
Both players gave All-Star caliber performances this season but neither were getting any younger.
So how did Rob Antony do?
If you ask me, he did a great job during his first trade deadline in a series of moves that could go a long way in potentially removing the interim tag.
Personally I’d give him a B+ grade for his efforts and he got possibly the best for the players he gave up.
But like Scott said in his Ups and Downs article, one can’t help but wonder why Kurt Suzuki is still around.
Not because I want to get rid of Suzuki but because I figured – like many others – that he would be next up after Jonathan Lucroy.
Granted, Lucroy’s veto of the Cleveland Indians probably did not help matters as his trade went down to the wire.
moving Plouffe seems to be the next and most logical step for the Minnesota Twins.
This probably didn’t allow the Minnesota Twins to make up that much ground in terms of Suzuki.
With reports also coming in that the club has not approached Suzuki about an extension, it seems his days in a Minnesota Twins uniform are numbered.
So why not trade him?
They may be waiting to renegotiate with him after the season but that seems unlikely even though it makes sense to bring him back.
His veteran leadership and steady bat have all been positives since he joined the team and the catching position isn’t the deepest in the world.
Regardless, this deadline should be viewed as an ultimate success. Ricky Nolasco is gone, Abad and Nunez brought back some nice returns and Alex Meyer should get a fresh start in LA.
This offseason I would expect discussion to focus back toward Ervin Santana and Trevor Plouffe with the latter being more likely to be moved despite Miguel Sano’s recent defensive struggles at the hot corner.
The team could look to move Sano to designated hitter and then Jorge Polanco or Eduardo Escobar to third.
Either way, moving Plouffe seems to be the next and most logical step for the Minnesota Twins.
Next: Nolasco, Meyer Traded to LA
We’ll just have to wait awhile longer.